Gift of Freedom
Guidelines & Award Criteria
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GUIDELINES FOR THE APPLICANT
Grants will be awarded to deserving women on an objective and non-discriminatory basis. The purpose of the grant is to assist the recipient in achieving a specific, qualifiable literary or artistic objective: the production of a creative project by the grantee.
Each Gift of Freedom applicant will be required to complete the application form which includes reflective essays on the applicant’s artistic life, a sample of the applicant’s artistic work, and questions involving education, past employment, and community service. Complete disclosure of an applicant’s financial assets is required.
- Grant recipients must be able to meet definitive artistic criteria to include the following:
- Personal artistic objective to be realized over the grant period;
- Definite project goal;
- Spiritual aspect—at what level does the applicant’s art represent her spiritual identity and endeavor to further that identity;
- Unconditional moral contract to produce a certain project.
- The individual must be a citizen or legal resident of the United States who will be residing in the U.S. during the entire two year grant period.
- Community benefit will be considered in the selection of the recipient. At the completion of the sponsorship period, community benefit would include:
- To what extent will the artistic objective benefit the larger community;
- How the applicant proposes that the results of her work will be made available to the general public;
- The willingness of the applicant to mentor other women artists in the future;
- The recipient’s willingness to contribute to tax exempt charitable organizations, including A Room of Her Own, if the work produced as a result of the grant provides income in the future.
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RECOMMENDED READING: Click here for excerpts from past applications
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FINANCIAL RESOURCE INFORMATION MEMO
Including your financial/employment history in the application process provides us a different perspective on your life. This additional information helps us ascertain financial competency. AROHO needs to have confidence that winners of the award are able to impeccably manage their finances during the sponsorship period.
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The Gift of Freedom Selection Panel will be composed of members of AROHO’s Board of Directors, Advisory Council, and volunteers chosen by the AROHO Board representing diverse backgrounds and expertise in the arts and business, yet all with a shared interest in women in the arts.
The Foundation reserves the right to not grant a Gift of Freedom Award for any award cycle if it is determined, in the sole and absolute discretion of the Foundation’s Selection Panel, that there is not an acceptable application among those submitted to the Foundation for the award cycle.
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WHAT IF I WIN?
Each award will be customized to meet the needs and requirements of the recipient. The maximum period for receipt of a grant from AROHO will be two years with a formal periodic review of each recipient’s progress and individual mentoring by board members, Advisory Council members, and past recipients of the award.
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